Out Of Darkness, Cometh Light
by ohcaptainswan
Summary: Killian Jones is an actor. A hot actor. A hot, famous actor. A hot, famous, drunken actor. His reputation is in ruins and they're running out of options to turn the public's view on him around. Enter Emma Swan. The actress who's agreed to date him to help correct his image. But what happens when two people meet and realise that they're just as broken as the other. {Fake dating/AU}
1. Prologue

Flashes. Flashes everywhere and from every single direction. She couldn't keep track of them all. It was continuous and it never seemed to stop. "Emma." "Emma Swan." "Over here Miss Swan." "This way. Here." "Shows us the dress." "Look over your shoulder." "Gorgeous Emma." "Here Emma. Right down the middle." The shouts were also coming from every single direction and it was giving Emma a good old migraine. She hated red carpets. She's never been one to be the focus of attention. So why did she go into acting? Well that was the first question she got asked in the interview line.

"Emma. It's lovely to see you. Welcome to the MTV Movie and TV Awards."

"Thank you for having me. It's great to be here."

"So, you haven't been an actor for that long. How did you get into the industry and what made you fall in love with acting?" The interviewer asked her. She smiled that famous smile before answering the question.

"I had a rough upbringing." Emma started. She was holding her hands in front of her, keeping them as still as possible. These people were vultures, if they knew she was nervous, that would be it. "I think I just loved that I could escape and be someone different. That I didn't need to be myself. And now, as I'm becoming more experienced, I'm loving the research side of things and building up these characters. That's what keeps me going now. I love that it's not just a job, it's an art. And I think I've become kinda obsessed with being the best I can be at my art." Emma laughed and gave another smile. _Man she needed a shot. Or two. Or maybe ten._

"And what brings you to the MTV Movie and TV Awards this evening?"

"Well I'm presenting the award for Best Actor in a Movie this evening."

"And who are you hoping to win?" Emma laughed.

"All of the actors that are nominated tonight deserve to win. They're all incredible people and work extremely hard. They all deserve the nomination" Emma finished and shook the hand of the interviewer.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Swan" the Interviewer smiled as he let go of her hand.

"The pleasure is all mine." _One down. 14 more interviews to go._ Most of the interviewers with the same thing. Who was she wearing? What was she looking forward to this evening? What are her upcoming projects?

After what felt like an eternity, Emma had finally finished the interview line. As she shook hands with the last interviewer, she made her way over to the fans that were standing by the entrance to the theatre. She signed well over a hundred autographs and took pictures with as many people as she could. It wasn't until Regina, Emma's manager, was tugging on her arm to get her into the theatre in time for the Awards to start, that Emma gave one last picture before she waved goodbye to them all.

"Thank you guys." Emma said as the last picture was taken. The chorus of 'We love you Emma' rang up as Regina tugged on her arm once more. She waved once last time, blew them a kiss and then turned to walk away.

"The show starts in 10 minutes!" Regina whispered and led her into the theatre.

"I know but they've all be out then since yesterday. Yesterday Regina! That's mad." Emma exclaimed.

"Yes and I would have been mad at you if I hadn't had found you in time. This is a big deal Emma."

"I know, I know" Emma replied and gave her manager a shy smile. "I'm sorry. But I'm here now."

It was at this moment that a man wearing designer jeans, a white t-shirt and a black blazer stumbled into Emma and pushed her to one side, almost knocking her to the ground, if it hadn't had been for the wall that she fell into. Pushing a girl anyway is bad show, but pushing a girl who's wearing 6 inch heels and who's already had shots, is even worse. Once Emma had regained her balance, she twirled around to face the man.

"What the hell is your problem?" Emma snapped. He stopped walking and turned around to face her. He was handsome. Really handsome. And if Emma hadn't been pissed off at him, then she'd probably admit it to herself.

"Sorry Princess." He mumbled and gave her a smile. A drunken smile. He was completely and utterly hammered.

"Emma. Come on." Regina said and pulled on her arm.

"No." Emma said. She'd blame the alcohol in her system later for the scene she was about to make. "I said what the hell is your problem." She took one step towards the man and put her hands on her hips. She wasn't going to back down. However, she couldn't help wonder why this man looked so familiar. Regina gave her another tug on her arm to leave, but she stood her ground. Regina gave up trying and in the end, stood behind Emma and crossed her arms waiting for the scene her client was making to disappear.

"Killian." A man's voice said behind them. She turned around to face another man who she didn't recognise. Regina, however, did.

"Robin, it's good to see you." Regina greeted the man but the green orbs that were Emma's eyes hadn't left the glistening ocean's that were Killian's. Killian Jones. Now she knows why she's heard of him. The renowned 'bad boy' of the acting industry. A successful child actor who turned his reputation upside down and inside out in recent years. He also happens to be the man she's presenting the award with later in the evening.

"You too Regina." Robin said and smiled. "And now you'll have to excuse me, but I've got to sober him up" Robin pointed at Killian and started walking towards him.

Robin's arm went around his neck, trying to steer him towards the fresh air that he so desperately needed. "Wait, wait, wait" Killian slurred over his words and turned back around to face Emma who was still starring him down. "I think the pretty lady might want to join me."

"The 'pretty lady' will kick you in the balls if you come anywhere near me." Emma said and crossed her arms over her chest. At this point, she'd forgotten that she was indeed at an award show and they'd be making a scene.

"Emma. Come on." Regina hissed and pulled on her arm one last time. And this time, Emma relented and let her manager lead her away.

"What a jackass." Emma said as Regina led her to their seats.

"Yes but what you're going to do is sit here, relax, enjoy the show, and when it comes to presenting the award with him later, you will smile and present it."

"Oh I'm okay presenting the award with him, as long as he doesn't knock me over again or flirt with me."

"With the amount of alcohol that man has consumed, I wouldn't rule that out." Regina replied and smoothed out the wrinkles in her own dress. "But if I know Robin, he'll sort him out. Killian's just changed managers to him."

"And how do you know Robin?" Emma questioned and then looked over at her friend.

"We may have gone out a few times." Regina shrugged and took a sip from her drink.

"Seriously! How long ago? Was it recent? How long were you together?" Emma shot questions at Regina.

"Okay no. It wasn't anything serious. Just two friends, having fun." Emma laughed at that answer.

"Regina Mills. You naughty girl." Emma teased as the lights dimmed in the theatre, ready for the show to start.

The MTV Movie and TV Awards were always a relatively fun award show. It wasn't as serious as the Oscar's or the Emmy's, but then not on the same scale as the Kids Choice Awards. As the show neared the climax, Emma knew that she'd soon be called to present the award with Douchebag Jones.

As the awards went to the final commercial break, Emma spotted in the corner of her eye, a woman in a black top, and white shirt approaching.

"Emma Swan, we need to backstage now." The woman said as Emma stood up and straightened out the bottom of her dress.

"How do I look?" She asked Regina as she twirled around.

"Perfect. Now go show the world who Emma Swan is."

Having only been in the business for the last 3 years, Emma was a relative new comer. She shot to fame after starring in a successful comedy film. Her acting career, was almost like a fairy-tale. The first acting role she got, she shot to stardom. The woman led her to a set of chairs backstage and told her to wait there until she was called. So Emma sat and waited for the inevitable.

"Hey there Princess" Killian said and sat next to her. Emma said nothing and then Killian huffed. "Oh come on. You need to speak to me at some point, otherwise there are going to be millions of people disappointed when we walk out there and you refuse to say anything." He paused but Emma said nothing. "Okay right. I don't do this often, so treasure it love. I want to apologise for my earlier actions."

"I highly doubt that you're saying that because you mean it. More like your manager has threatened you if you don't apologise to me."

"Oh hey she speaks." Killian grinned, but his face dropped when Emma shot him a look. "Right no. I mean it. Truly. I shouldn't have knocked you over, I shouldn't have been a jackass to you and I probably shouldn't have had this much to drink."

"Emma. Killian. We're one minute out. Stand here please." They both were ushered into position behind the opening doors, ready to walk out and great the masses. Emma was handed an envelope with the words "Best Actor" printed on the front. She took a breath.

5\. 4. 3. 2. 1. They were off. The doors opened and they started walking out to meet the camera's, when Killian grabbed Emma's arm and laced it through his.

"Don't read anything into this love. This is what all the presenters do." He said, just loud enough so that she could hear, and no one else. "Plus, I don't want you falling over again."

They reached the microphone situated in the middle of the stage, but before they started talking, they both smiled and waved to the roaring crowd that greeted them.

"Well, this is it folks. The end of the evening." Killian read off the teleprompter.

"No hang on." Emma turned to Killian and smiled. "We still have one more award to present this evening. The award for Best Movie Actor."

"And here are your nominations." The nominations reel started playing behind them on the screens. Killian took this moment to turn to Emma once more. He seemed like he was contemplating what he should do. Emma kept her eyes on the crowd and used this time to wave to the fans that she could hear calling her name on the top balcony. Killian took a step closer to Emma and whispered in her ear.

"I think I might change your nickname from Princess to Swan. It's shorter and I you're too scary to be a princess."

"Can you step away from me please." Emma whispered back and shot him the same look she'd been giving him since she'd met him earlier that evening. The look that told him to back the fuck away and leave her alone. "People are starring."

"Of course they're starring."

"Step. Away." Emma said. She tried her hardest not to let her voice waver, but at the same time she was pissed. Tonight was supposed to be a great night. This was her first award she was ever presenting and it was a big deal, especially for a young woman who had been an unknown for the majority of her life. She had never had a real sense of belonging until she started acting. But now this douchebag was ruining everything.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

"And the winner for Best Actor goes to…" Emma put on her best fake smile as she opened the envelope.

"The one and only, Bradley Cooper." Killian continued and started clapping. The music started up as the actor made his way onto the stage. Both Emma and Killian handed over the 'popcorn' trophy and then stepped to the side so that Bradley could make his acceptance speech.

And that was it. The show was over. As the lights in the theatre slowly came on, Emma walked down the stairs at the front of the stage and made a dash for Regina.

"Let's get out of here." Emma said and this time, it was her pulling on her manager to follow. They had made it all the way out of the theatre and outside to the car that was picking them up before she heard her name being called behind her.

"Swan, wait."

"Don't call me that."

"Emma."

"Don't call me that either."

"So what the hell am I supposed to call you?"

"Nothing. Because you don't get the privilege."

"I've hardly done anything."

"But you've done something." Emma seethed and twirled around to face him. She looked at the faces of the immediate surroundings and then calmed her voice down. "You don't get it."

"I don't get what." Emma turned towards the car again Killian got there before her.

"I'll wait in the car Emma" Regina said and got in the car that awaited them. Emma sighed and ran her hands through her golden locks.

"What don't I get Emma?" Killian asked again. He'd sobered up in the last few hours, so Emma was grateful that should could have a semi-normal conversation with him without him slurring over his words.

"I've worked my ass off over the last few years to be here today. You started acting so long ago that you probably don't even remember the struggle of actually making a living out of this job. You don't have anything to prove, but I still do. And today…" Emma paused and sighed. "Today you could have ruined it all for me."

"What the hell do you mean Emma?"

"Did you not see the looks we were getting and the people whispering? God knows what they're fucking saying about us."

"So what. You're not stupid Emma. You know that people write shit all the time that's not true. That's half of this job. Lies."

"You don't have anything to prove. I still do. I have people still thinking that I'm going to fail, but I can't." Emma paused. That heat of the argument finally getting to her. She swallowed. "I just can't. I can't fail."

Emma starred down Killian one last time, willing for him to say something. Anything. Emma Swan doesn't open up to people, let alone someone who she's known for a few hours and who's she argued with for half of that. But the truth is that Killian didn't know what to say. And as the blonde haired beauty got into the car with her manager and drove away, Killian couldn't help but realise that she was just as broken as he was.

* * *

Thank you so much for reading. Obviously, this is only the prologue. I thought it was important to show the first time our characters meet. The story will take place 18 months later. Please let me know what you think. This is absolutely one of my favourite trope's and I know there are a lot of these Fake Dating stories out there for these two characters. But I'd like to think that as the story goes on, it'll become clear that I've tried to do something a little different.

Leave a review and let me know what you think. Did Emma over-react?


	2. The Meeting

18 months later

"Henry, come on. Your making me late!" Emma shouted up the stairs. She had her coat on, her shoes on and her cream handbag in one hand and her car keys in her other hand. She waited for her son to respond before she crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. It was one of those mornings. "5. 4." She called out. "3, 2." She could now hear the pitter-patter of footsteps upstairs as her son ran across the floorboards. As she got to two, she saw her son, standing at the top of the stairs, his brown hair sticking up in all different directions and his rucksack open. Emma knew the countdown would work. It always does. Emma had never actually reached zero before, so she was unsure what she would do if she ever did.

"I'm coming." The 8 year old said as he came down the stairs. Once he got two steps from the bottom, he dropped his rucksack so he could fix his hair. It rolled down the last few steps, tipping the contents of his bag out and on the floor.

"Henry," Emma scolded as his books, water bottle, lunch box and pencil case fell to the ground. His pencil case wasn't fully shut so his pens and pencils dropped out and were rolling on the floor too. "I haven't got time for this. I've got a very important meeting this morning and we're already late. Pick up your things and let's go." Emma started walking towards the kitchen, leaving the little boy to pick up his bag. She ran her hands through her hair as she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, she took a sip before screwing the lid back on tight into place. She then tipped the bottle upside down to check it wasn't going to leak and then placed it upright in her handbag.

"Have you got another part mom?" Henry asked as he walked into the room, his hair still sticking up but this time, his bag was closed and was on his back, his shoes were on and he looked like he was ready for the school day ahead.

"I'm hoping so kid. Come on, let's get you to school."

Emma loaded her son into her little yellow bug. It was a good car, the reliability of it fading, however it still got her from point A to B. As Emma drove in the direction of Henry's school, she knew something was on his mind. She looked over and ruffled his hair as she came to a set of traffic lights.

"Okay. Spit it out." She said as she waited for the lights to change to green.

"Nothing's wrong." He said and put his chin in his hand which was resting on the window.

"Henry Swan. I can see it on your face. Talk." She said as the light turned green. She put the car in gear and started moving. She'd always had an easy relationship with Henry. Being a single parent gives you that special bond between parent and child. It was just her and her son, and Emma liked that. From the first moment Emma laid eyes on her son, she'd never experienced love like it. He was overwhelmingly perfect in every sense of the word. She'd been there through it all; every scrape, every cut, every sickness, the bad dreams, everything.

"It's just" Henry started and then looked over at his mom. "If you get the role, you'll be leaving me again." Emma's mouth fell open, but then she quickly shut it. He'd never admitted anything like this before and it surprised Emma. She knew that her son missed her when she went away, but he also loved that she was an actress and that he got to go all over the world with her.

"Henry, you know why I have to leave you, right?"

"I know." Henry sighed. "You don't want to keep moving me around. You want me settled."

"Exactly. You love school, you've got great friends." Emma said but she couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt rush through her body. _She didn't want to move him around like she was at his age._ Every time she had to say goodbye to her son when she went away, she always felt that same rush of guilt. She shouldn't be leaving her child behind, but what else could she do? She'd already built a successful career in the acting industry. She'd finally found something that gave her a sense of accomplishment in life. And she needed to pay the bills. And it wasn't like she was leaving Henry to fend for himself, he always stayed with Mary Margaret and David; Emma's two best friends who also happened to be married. "You've never said anything about me going away to work before. Do you not like staying with Mary Margaret and David?" Emma asked.

"No, I love staying with them." Henry said. "But Miss French said that they want to do a 'bring your parent to school day' and if you're working, then you won't be able to come."

"Henry, I'm not the only parent that works. They'll be a lot of kids in your class whose parents won't be able to come."

"But their parents won't be out of the state." Henry muttered and turned to face the window again. As Emma pulled to a halt outside his school, Henry silently grabbed his bag and opened the door.

"We'll talk about this later, okay?" Emma asked, knowing she wouldn't get an answer from her son. "David will be here to pick you up, I'm not sure how long my meeting will last." Henry nodded.

"I love you mom." He said as he swung his bag onto his back.

"I love you too kid." Henry closed the door and Emma pulled the car back onto the road. She did the same routine most weeks. Who knew that an actor needed to go to so many meeting's?

However, today wasn't just a normal meeting. Today she was meeting with Mulan, a director who had offered Emma a role in her latest film. Emma knew she hadn't quite landed the role yet. She needed to meet with the director first and talk about the project, but Emma was excited nethertheless. She'd practically got this role in the bag, unless something drastic happened.

As she drove, Emma couldn't help but think back to the conversation she had with Henry that morning. She knew that as he was getting older, he was becoming more aware that his dad wasn't around and that she was the only parent he had. In recent months, he'd started asking questions about him. Not the big questions like why he wasn't around, but things like how he and Emma met or what was he like. Emma knew that eventually she'd have to tell him the full story, but for now, she wanted her child to be just that, a child.

She found a car parking space right outside the doors of office that Emma had been told to go to. It was a high-rise office building, the kind with revolving doors at the foot. Emma got out of her car, grabbed her handbag which contained her notebook and then locked the door to her bug. It was at this moment when he phone started to ring. As she pulled her phone out of her bag, she looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Mary Margaret calling.

"Hey, shouldn't you be at school?" She answered and leaned against her car. She was early so she could afford to spend a couple of minutes on the phone to one of her best friends.

"Yeah well I've got a sick bug or something. A lot of the kids are sick too so I must have caught it off them. The school have got cover for me so I can at least take today off."

"I'll try and get out of my meeting early so I can pick Henry up. If you're sick, the last thing you want is to be looking after him. Lie in bed, eat some soup and then get some rest."

"No, no, Emma, honestly. We don't mind having him. Plus the only thing that will make me feel better right now is seeing Henry."

"Only if you don't mind M." Emma said and looked at her watch. 10:55am.

"Of course not. David was talking about taking him to the park later."

"Oh he'll love that. Look, I've got to go. Meetings and all that."

"You're seriously a workaholic Emma" Mary Margaret chuckled. "You should take a break. Relax or something."

"it's fine. I've got a good feeling about this project."

"Then go kick some ass" Mary Margaret replied and then the women said their goodbye's. Emma dropped her phone back into her bag and took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

As she walked into the building, she couldn't help but feel like she was out of her league. This is the first time a director had come to her for a role, not the other way around. She was still new to this but as she walked to the front desk and greeted the receptionist, she couldn't help but feel a wave of excitement rush through her body.

"My name is Emma Swan. I have a meeting a 11 o'clock with Mulan," She stated and tapped her fingers on the desk, anxiously waiting for a response. The receptionist flashed her a small smile that reassured Emma.

"Perfect. Right Miss Swan. You need to go through the double doors over there" she pointed to her left to a set of doors. "You then need to go to the elevator and up to the 12th floor. Another receptionist will be there to take you through."

"Thank you." Emma said and started following the directions. Through the double doors. Elevator. 12th floor.

"Miss Swan?" The next receptionist was there to greet her as the doors the elevator opened on the 12th floor.

"Yes, that's me." Emma said and walked out from the confines of the elevator.

"This way." The receptionist then started walking down the hall, taking a right and then the second left before knocking on a door.

"Come in" the voice from inside the room shouted. The receptionist opened the door for her and gave her a sweet smile as Emma stepped inside.

"Ah you must be Emma. It's a pleasure to meet you." Mulan stood from behind her desk and stuck out for hand for Emma to shake.

"The pleasure is all mine." Mulan gestured towards one of the empty seats on Emma's side of the desk. She sat down, linking her hands together and then rested them upon her lap.

"So this film" Mulan started.

"Oh yes." Emma said as she reached into her handbag and took her notebook and a pen out. She opened it to the next clean page and rested it on her lap, ready and waiting to take notes down.

"Yes right. You'll be playing a young mother of two, her name is Claire."

"Claire's a pretty name" Emma said and wrote it down. _Claire. Mother of two_.

"She's had a rough time in recent years. 3 months after her daughter was born, Claire's husband was murdered."

"Oh wow." Emma said. _Murdered husband._

"And ever since then, Claire has put her children first and hasn't taken a moment for herself. She's afraid to love after what happened with her husband." Emma nodded. _Afraid to love._

"Well, that's understandable. After having her love ripped away from her in an instant, it's obviously going to affect her."

"Exactly." Mulan said and smiled. "Anyway, she meets a man and she finally lets herself feel again. Believe me, its takes some time. She's still not over her husband's death but this man makes her feel alive again after so long of feeling dead. She resists at first. Claire believes that if she opens her heart again, it will only end in heartbreak."

"And she's thinking of her children too."

"A mother always puts her children first."

"Exactly" Emma smiled and thought of her and Henry.

"She's a strong woman. Puts everyone else before herself. But she's still heartbroken. It's as if she's buried the pain for so long." Mulan stopped talking and watched Emma take notes "Do you have children Emma?" Mulan asked, generally interested. Emma looked up from her notebook at this sudden change of topic from the film to her personal life. Mulan quickly noticed Emma's shock and then said "I can see it on your face."

"Well, yes I do. I have a son."

"How old is he?"

"8." Emma simply said, but she took a moment to smile at how quick her son was growing up.

"And what does he think about you being an actress?"

"He's a smart kid, so he knows it makes me happy. But I think he's becoming more aware as he's getting older that when I get roles and it's during the school term, I have to leave him behind. It's hard, on both of us."

"Emma, if you decide to do this film, and I'm really hoping you do, we'll be shooting up in Canada. So that might be hard on you and your boy." Emma nodded. She knew that it was inevitable that sooner or later, one of her roles would take her out of the country. "But I'm an understanding director. Most of the crew have families at home too. Unless we absolutely need to, we won't be filming on weekends. That would give you time to visit your son then."

Emma and Mulan chatted for hours. They talked about everything from their past projects, the film and what Emma would bring to the movie. The next time that Emma looked at the clock, it was closing in on 3 o'clock. Mulan glanced over at the clock on the wall and then checked that time against her watch.

"Hmm. Your co-star was due here half an hour ago."

"Oh you've cast him already?" Emma asked and checked the time on her watch too.

As Mulan opened her mouth to answer, she was cut off by a knock on the door. She looked over at Emma as she said "come in."

The door opened slowly and in walked the one and only Killian Jones. Emma's face dropped in an instant. 18 months later and she still hadn't forgot that night at the awards show. She also hadn't forgot the rumours that went on for months afterwards about if they were dating. But in that time since she'd last seen this man, it looked like he hadn't aged a day. His hair, still untamed as it was. His stubble, still at a similar length. And his cockiness still hadn't changed, as the first words that came out of his mouth were "Afternoon. Am I late?"

Emma turned back in her seat to face Mulan as Killian strolled over and sat down in the empty seat next to her.

"Emma Swan, meet Killian Jones. He'll be your love interest in the film." Mulan flashed a smile at her, obviously unaware of the past between them both. Well the whole world was blissfully unaware. The argument between them before the awards had luckily stayed under wraps.

"Swan, nice to see you again." Killian said as he leant back in his chair.

"Oh you two know each other?" Mulan asked and looked between them.

"We've met once." Emma said and glanced over at him. As Killian opened his mouth to reply to Emma, there was another knock on the door. Mulan looked over questioningly as the door opened to reveal the receptionist that led Emma to the door nearly 4 hours prior.

"Excuse me Mulan, but your 4 o'clock appointment is waiting."

"He's early." Mulan muttered and looked from Emma to Killian. "I'm sorry but we're going to have to cut this meeting short. Killian, we'll arrange to meet again in the coming weeks." Emma and Killian both stood up from their seats. Mulan shook his hand first before turning to Emma. "Emma, it was lovely to meet you. Please let me know if you have any questions. But we'll need to answer about the film within the week." She shook Emma's hand next.

"I'll be in touch" Emma said and grabbed her bag from the floor and then walking out of the meeting room with Killian hot on her trail.

"Swan, wait." Killian said and chased her down the numerous identical corridors until she found the elevator.

"I told you not to call me that."

"Oh for God's sake it was ages ago. Come on." Normally, Emma would agree. She would turn over a new page and that would be that. But in this instance, with this man, all the stubbornness in the entire world seemed attracted to her.

Emma walked into the elevator with him behind her. The doors closed and then there was silence. She could feel his gaze on her before she turned her head and saw it for herself. Then the familiar 'ding' of the elevator rang aloud, indicated that they had reached their destination. As Emma walked out and into the foyer, she heard Killian shout her name.

"Emma." He said, willing for her to turn around one last time.

"What do you want?" She twirled around to face him.

"I want to talk." He said and thrust his hands in his trouser pockets.

"Then talk." Emma said copying his actions. They were in the middle of a crowded foyer, with people going about their day minding their own business. But Emma couldn't help but feel exactly the same as she did 18 months prior. She felt angry but she didn't even understand why. Yes the man was a dick. And yes she was frustrated at the months of rumours afterwards. But were those two reasons enough to stay angry at him? However, standing there with him in the foyer, she could still smell the alcohol on his breath from what she presumed was his previous night activities. And in that moment, Emma had made the decision that he was still the cocky bastard that she'd first encountered 18 months ago.

"What can I say to make you forgive me for our last meeting?"

"I've already forgiven you."

"Right the way that your starring my down right now begs to differ." Emma turned back around and started walking out the building.

"Swan." He called after her.

"Jones." She said and continued walking, back through the doors, back to her yellow car and on her way, leaving him alone outside of the building. Emma felt overwhelmed. 'What had just happened' was the question that was constantly on a loop in her mind. She realised that she was a bit of a bitch to him and she probably should have heard him out.

It was as if Emma was on autopilot. She didn't even know she'd arrived safely at Mary Margaret and David's house until she stopped the car and turned her engine off. She sat there for a few moments, completely oblivious that Henry had come outside and was now approaching her car. The 'tap, tap, tap' on the window awoke her from her daydream and brought her attention back down to the present. Emma smiled at her son and then got out of the car, grabbing her bag in the process.

"Hey Kid." Emma said, she bent down so that she was crouching and then took her son into her arms. "Did you have a good day?" She asked and placed a kiss on the top of his head.

"Mmmhmmm" Henry mumbled and then Emma noticed David standing on the porch.

"Hey, make sure you've got all your things in your bag, alright?" Emma said as Henry walked back up to house. As walked onto the porch, David ruffled his hair before he disappeared inside.

"How's Mary Margaret? Emma asked as she reached the steps leading up to the house.

"She's resting." David replied and held the door open for Emma. It was a typical American style house with green lawn on the front and a garage attached to the side.

As she stepped into the warmth of the house, Mary Margaret came down the stairs, still in her night clothes and dressing gown with fluffy slippers on her feet.

"Emma, how did your meeting go?" Mary Margaret inquired. Emma didn't even need to say anything, but she gave Mary Margaret the 'look.'

"That bad huh?" David said and closed the door.

"It wasn't bad. The director was amazing and the role is perfect. It's just" Emma trailed off.

"What happened?" Mary Margaret walked down the last of the stairs and stood at the bottom. Emma looked between her two friends before sighing.

"Killian Jones is my co-star."

"As in Douchebag Killian Jones?" Mary Margaret clarified.

"The same one."

"Wait, the man that you had that big fight with at that award show last year?" David asked and looked between Mary Margaret and Emma for an answer.

"Okay no. I didn't fight with anyone. We had an argument and that was it." Emma said and stuffed her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. "And I may have carried that argument on today."

"What do you mean?" Mary Margaret asked. She looked at Emma who's gaze had drifted to the floor before saying "Oh Emma."

"I wasn't that hard on him."

"Oh I beg to differ. I've been on the wrong side of you when your pissed off, and believe me, your kind of scary Ems." David replied and shrugged his shoulders.

"You never know Emma, maybe he's changed. It's been nearly 2 years." Mary Margaret was always one to put a positive spin on life. Whatever situation they were in, she'd always find a way to take something positive out of it.

"I highly doubt that. He was still a cocky jerk."

"Well then, see it as a challenge." David suggested. "You've always had an easy ride when it comes to other actors you've worked with. Maybe it'll be good for you to work with someone who you don't necessarily get along with."

"That would be fine but he's my love interest. You have to trust to person your working with so that you can bring out the best in each other."

"What's your heart saying Emma?" Mary Margaret looked at her waiting for an answer. Henry then walked into the room with his bag on his back and his shoes on, ready to go home.

"My heart is saying I feel like pizza tonight. What about you kid?" Emma changed the topic and held onto Henry's hand.

"Can we get Mario's?" Henry questioned and looked up at his mom.

"Mario's it is." Emma smiled back at him. "What do you say to Mary Margaret and David?"

"Thank you for having me." Henry said and gave them both a hug goodbye.

"It was our pleasure Henry." David smiled at the boy.

"Feel better soon, M." Emma said as her and Henry walked out of the house.

"Just think about it Emma." Mary Margaret replied, changing the subject back to 'you know who.' Emma nodded in reply and turned around, walking back to her little yellow car with her son.

That evening, Emma and Henry sat by the TV, eating Mario's pizza, the best (in their opinion) in LA. She then took him up to bed, read him a story and gave him a kiss goodnight. Emma then came downstairs, opened her laptop and typed the words 'Killian Jones' into the search engine.

 _Right then Jones. What's your story?_

* * *

Right. I've been completely overwhelmed by all your amazing responses from the prologue. Honestly, I wasn't expecting a reaction like that. So I've decided to spoil you all and upload early.

I've awful at proof reading my own work, so please ignore any mistakes. I wanted to get this up as soon as possible for you all as a lot of you wanted an update. So here you go :) I started writing this chapter thinking it was going in one direction, turns out it ended up in a completely different place.

It's going to take a few chapters to actually set the scene for this story. Think of it as a TV Show... sometimes it takes a couple of episodes before it takes shape. So give this time.

Please let me know what you think of this chapter. Should Emma have forgiven him by now? What did you think of little Henry? Is Emma right to be leaving him behind? And what about Killian? Why do you think he is the way he is? Let me know your general thoughts as well. I love hearing them and what you think is going to happen next. Reading your reviews makes me so happy.

See you soon, Jess :)


	3. The Car Ride

From Emma's research on the one and only Killian Jones, she'd learnt a few things. The main one being that he was one hell of a good actor. She'd found information on him relatively easily. He grew up in a small town just outside of London; he'd started acting when he was 11 years old, starring in some commercials here and there. His 'big break' came when he was only 14 when he was cast in a highly successful BBC drama. And then he disappeared. Well not literally, but he stopped acting until he turned 20.

It wasn't until the early hours of the morning when Emma decided to shut her laptop off and climb into bed. However, her mind couldn't settle. Who was Killian Jones? Yes, he was a highly successful actor who he _really_ was he? And why couldn't she get him out of her head?

Emma didn't fall asleep until close to 2am. When she eventually closed her eyes, her mind seemed consumed by his face, his voice, everything about it. She tossed and turned, suddenly she was too hot and then too cold. It seemed that the world was conspiring against her not getting an ounce of sleep that night.

The next morning, Emma awoke to blue, cloudless skies. It was going to be a good day. She could feel it despite the interrupted sleep the night before. As she turned over to face the illuminated clock on her night stand, her eyes flicked to the time. 8:24am. Henry. He'd already be awake by now. Luckily it was a Saturday so she had no where she needed to be. She threw on an old jumper and slipped on her slippers, and then opened the wooden door and crept down the stairs. She could hear the TV on in the living room and the sound of cutlery hitting a bowl. Emma strolled into the living room and there was her son, eating breakfast and watching the television.

"Henry." Emma greeted and sat on the couch next to him. She took his feet and rested them on her lap.

"Morning mom." Henry gave her a genuine smile before turning his attention back to the TV.

"It's Saturday. You normally come into my room in on the weekends."

"Yeah and you normally wake up when I open the door."

"I'm sorry Henry. I had a bad night sleep."

"It's fine. I'm a big boy now so I can do my own breakfast." Emma smiled at how grown up her little boy was becoming. It was almost like he was born and then she had blinked and now he wasn't so little anymore. Emma was silent for a moment, just happily watching her son engrossed in the show that he was watching.

"Hey, so we need to talk." Emma said as Henry's eyes left the screen to meet her.

"What about?" He asked, worried.

"I need to know what you think about me being an actor?" Henry's eyes didn't leave hers. "Please." Emma said and took his cereal bowl that he had finished and placed it on the coffee table.

"Momma." He hadn't called her that in years.

"Remember Henry. Big boy. So tell me the truth." In Emma's mind, she knew this was asking a lot of a 8 year old boy. But she needed to know what his true feelings were.

"I like that you're an actor." Henry truthfully said. "But I don't like it when you have to go for ages."

"Right, listen. You remember yesterday when I went to go and see that director?" Emma asked and Henry nodded. "Well she's pretty much offered me the role, but we'd be shooting in Canada."

"Canada?" Henry questioned.

"Yeah so I'll be a couple of hours away on an aeroplane."

"Will I be able to come and see you?" Emma smiled and took his hands in hers and kissed them lightly on the knuckles.

"Of course. And I'll come back to LA every weekend to visit you."

"You will?"

"I promise." Henry took his left hand out from underneath hers and held up his little finger.

"Pinky swear?" He said and Emma laughed, bringing her hand up and intertwining their fingers together.

"Pinky swear." She smiled and he laughed. It was a perfect moment between mother and son. However, then Emma's phone that was in her jumper pocket started to ring. Emma sighed and reached and grabbed her phone. She looked at the caller ID and answered swiftly.

"Moring Regina." Emma said and took her son's feet off her lap and stood up, Henry's attention quickly turned back to the TV. She walked out of the living room, down the hall and into the bright kitchen.

"Emma." Regina greeted.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked and hopped onto the kitchen counter. She could tell something was pressing on Regina's mind.

"Look, you know I said no meetings at the weekend unless they were absolutely necessary." Regina paused but Emma already knew where this was going. As much as she loved her job, the constant meetings was something she didn't like. Most of the time, she'd sit there for hours while people talked about it. She nodded and 'hmmm' in the appropriate places but other than that, Emma wished she could be anywhere else.

"How important?" Emma asked, knowing the answer before she even muttered the words.

"Very. As in drop everything and get here as soon as possible."

"Can this not be delayed until Monday? I was going to take Henry to the beach. He's a little upset about me leaving for Canada."

"Well this is actually about Canada." Regina said. "Look, I've tried to delay it but they're insistent."

"What do you mean by 'they're?" Emma asked. She then started running through everything she'd done in the last few weeks. Had she done something wrong?

"Emma you know I don't do this often. Well I've never done this. But you need to get your ass here."

"Alright." Emma agreed and rubbed her temples. She then saw Henry poke his head through the kitchen door. She gave him a small smile and said goodbye to Regina.

"Was that Regina?" Henry asked, his cereal bowl in his hands.

"Yeah, kid. It was." Emma said and got down from the countertop. She took the bowl out of his hands and walked over to the sink, she filled the cereal bowl up with water and then left it in the sink to soak. She then picked up her phone again and began dialling Mary Margaret's number. She got halfway through the digits before she looked over at Henry who was still looking at her. "Look, Regina needs me for something quick. So I'm going to call M's and David. But I promise you Henry, we'll do something fun later."

"Okay." He agreed and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. She finished dialling M's number and she picked up almost instantly.

"Morning Emma." She greeted.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Emma asked.

"I'm getting there Emma. What's up?"

"I may need you to watch Henry for a couple of hours. Regina called and I need to go in for an important meeting or something. I would normally take him with me but Regina sounded stressed and if it's important, then I don't know how long I'll be there for."

"Emma. Relax. You know we'll drop everything to help. Luckily for you though, we've got no plans. We'll come right over."

"Are you sure? I'm sure I could just give him my phone and he'll be fine."

"No Emma. We'll come right over. Give us 20 minutes, alright?"

"Thank you M's. You're a lifesaver."

"See you in a bit." Mary Margaret hung up the phone and Emma breathed a sigh of relief. She loved Henry, she really did. But being a single parent was so hard. She felt guilty for asking for Mary Margaret and David's help, but she had no one else to turn to. No boyfriend. No family. No one.

She grabbed a piece of toast and ran up the stairs to Henry's room. He was sitting on the rug in the middle of the room, playing with his cars. He was still wearing his night clothes and he looked peaceful. Emma poked her head in the door and Henry's eyes met hers.

"Mary Margaret and David are coming over, okay."

"Do I need to get changed?" Henry asked.

"I'm sure they won't mind you in your Pyjama's if you want to stay in them." Henry nodded and Emma closed the door shut behind her. She went back into her bedroom and locked the door. She went straight to her wardrobe and picked out a floral top and a nice pair of black jeans and boots. It was casual, but respectable enough for an important meeting.

As she was in her en-suite brushing her teeth at the sink, Emma heard the doorbell to their house ring.

"I'll get it." She heard Henry shout and start running down the landing to the stairs.

"One second." Emma said once she'd spat the toothpaste in the sink. She turned the tap on for a few seconds, running her toothbrush underneath the running water before tapping it on the side of the sink and then putting it back into the pot with her toothpaste.

She then opened the door to her bathroom and then went straight to the door to her bedroom and unlocked it. She then heard the faint sound of a man's voice. _That's not David. And definitely not Mary Margaret._

Emma quickly unlocked her door and stepped onto the landing. She took the stairs two at a time and quickly went to the front door where Henry was talking with... Killian?

"What are you doing here?" Emma said and stood beside her son, pushing him slightly behind her as Killian stood at the entrance to her house. "And how the hell do you know where I live?"

"Robin said we both have a meeting this morning. Something to do with the movie I presume. He told me I live close to you so I thought I'd be a gentlemen and offer to take us both." He grinned at her and then glanced over to her small yellow car. "And it's probably a good thing because that crap heap of a car on your drive looks like it might die at any moment." She glared at him and then quickly turned to Henry, she bent down to his level and gave him a small comforting smile.

"Hey can you go and get ready? David will probably want to take you to the park again." Henry stayed silent but nodded. He gave Killian one last glance before walking towards the stairs.

"That your son?" Killian asked.

"What are you doing here?"

"I told you."

"No what are you really doing here."

"Look Swan. We're going to be spending a lot of time together. You might as well get used to me."

"Not if you're going to show up at my house unannounced."

"Is it really that bad that I've shown up at your house to offer you a lift?" Emma thought. No. Actually. It wasn't that bad. If anything, it was nice of him to do.

"Just give me a minute." Emma paused and looked over his shoulder, hoping that Mary Margaret and David would show up miraculously. She then glanced over at him and thought… why not? "Do you want to come in?" Emma asked and opened the door wider for him. He looked shocked at first, but the shock soon faded from his face and he smiled.

"Sure." He simply said and took a step into the house. He walked into the hallway and Emma shut the door behind him. She then walked into the kitchen, with him following.

"You've got a lovely house." Killian said and looked around. He picked up a picture of Emma and Henry that sat on the window.

"Thanks" Emma replied and walked over to the fridge, grabbing a water bottle. "Do you want a drink?" Emma asked and kept the fridge open. Killian shook his head.

"I'm alright thanks." He said. It was then silent, neither of the two quite knowing what to say. Henry then walked back into the room, this time fully dressed and ready for the day. He walked over and stood by his mom's side.

"Hey, you're never normally shy." Emma said and rubbed his back. Killian smiled and bent down to Henry's level and held out his hand.

"Hey, I'm Killian. What's your name?" He said. Henry looked up at Emma as for confirmation. She smiled and nodded.

"Henry." He said and shook Killian's hand.

"It's great to meet you Henry." Killian smiled again.

"We're here." Shouts came from the hallway as Mary Margaret and David walked in.

"We're in the kitchen." Emma shouted back as Killian got up from his crouched position just as Mary Margaret and David walked into the room. Mary Margaret stopped still in her tracks as soon as she walked in, clocking Killian almost instantly.

"M's, David, this is Killian Jones. Killian, meet Mary Margaret and David." Emma said and gestured backwards and forwards between them all.

"Pleasure to meet you." Killian said and shook David's hand.

"Oh well." Mary Margaret stuttered, obviously stuck for words. David was intently starring at Killian, trying to figure him out. That was the detective coming out in David as clear as day. "It's good to meet you too. We've heard a lot about you." She paused and then looked at Emma who gave her the look that suggested _I'll tell you later._

"Thank you guys so much for this." Emma said and grabbed her handbag from the countertop.

"No problem Emma." Mary Margaret said and nudged David.

"Have a good day Emma." David said, bringing his eyes away from Killian's for just a moment.

"See you later." Emma said and walked out of the hallway, out of the house and down the drive to Killian's car. He ran ahead a little and opened the passenger side door and gestured for her to get in.

"Gentlemen, remember." He said as she gave him a questioning look. "Just get in Swan. I promise I won't bite." She got in and he shut the door behind her. Killian then ran over to the driver's side and got in himself. They drove in silence for a few minutes before Killian decided to speak up.

"You know, I think this is the first time we've spent time together where you haven't yelled at me."

"Huh, I guess it is." Emma turned her head to face him. "To be fair, in the few times we've spoke, you've only given me reason to yell at you."

"Well there's that." Killian replied and laughed. _This was not the same person. He must be a twin or something._ "Henry's sweet." Killian said and glanced over at her. Emma smiled and nodded. She linked her hands in her lap and sighed.

"Yeah he is."

"Tell me about him."

"What?"

"Tell me about him. Anything. Everything." Emma was silent and Killian instantly thought that she wasn't going to say anything. Until she did.

"He's 8 years old but acts like he's 28 most of the time. He's like an old man inside a little boy's body. He's so wise and gives the best advice." Emma started. "He loves fairytales. Like he's completely obsessed. David gave him an old fairytale book for his 6th birthday and every night since then, he's made me read it to him."

"He sounds like a smart kid." Killian said.

"He is." Emma replied.

"And what about his dad?" Killian asked, instantly regretting it. Emma's face completely changed and she turned towards the window.

"He's not in the picture. Was never in the picture. He doesn't even know Henry exists." Killian could see the anger on her face, even though she was trying her best to keep it hidden. He then knew he should change the subject.

"I have a niece. She's a little bit younger than Henry. She's just turned 5."

"What's her name?" Emma said, she was curious.

"Ella." He replied. "She's as hyper as anything most of the time. But she's also the sweetest girl you could ever meet. I don't see her often, but whenever I do, she runs up to me, gives me the biggest hug and kiss and then won't leave my side."

"No family over here?" Emma asked. She wanted to find out more than she already had on the internet. She wanted to know him. Really know him. Like what made him laugh or the songs that made him cry. She wanted to know his inner thoughts and feelings or whether he thought man really did step foot on the moon. She wanted to know all of this and so much more and she'd only started talking to him in the last hour. How can one man have this much effect on her in such a short space of time?

"I have a brother, Liam. He lives over in England with his wife, Elsa and Ella."

"And your parents?" Emma asked. She glanced over when he didn't answer straight away and she could see his jaw clenched. He waited a moment to answer, obviously thinking about what he was going to say.

"They're gone." Killian simply said as they pulled into the office car park. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." Emma said.

"At the awards a couple of years ago, you told me that you couldn't fail." Emma gritted her teeth. The one time she'd opened up to an absolute stranger, he'd not only remember but decide to ask her about it. "Was it because of Henry? You couldn't fail Henry?" Killian asked.

"Yes. I couldn't fail him. Not then. Not now. Not ever."

"I get that." Killian didn't need to say anything else. Those words gave away a hundred stories. He couldn't fail either, yet he felt like he had. He felt like he'd let someone down. Someone close to him. And he couldn't make it right.

It was in that moment when Emma realised that the man sitting next to her, might be just as broken as she was.

* * *

Reviews make me happy :) Plus I love hearing your thoughts about the chapter and your predictions.

Considering I started writing this chapter 24 hours ago, I don't think it turned out too badly. But I desperately wanted to get a chapter up this weekend as i know I'm going to be busy this week.

Please let me know what you think. We got glimpses of Killian's past in this chapter. What do you think happened?

ALSO... I'm making an OUAT Scrapbook and I really want a lot of fans to take part. Please check out my tumblr post for all information - therollyjodger. You can search the hastag #therollyjodgerproject on tumblr for the information!


	4. The Deal

*hides in a corner*

i'm so sorry this has taken me months to update this story. I've had no motivation to write.

But to make up for it, this chapter is my longest chapter yet - over double the length that any of my other chapters have been.

—

Chapter 3 – The Deal

They sat the rest of the car journey in silence, Killian navigating the streets of Los Angeles as Emma sat with her attention solely focused on the world outside. It should have been awkward, but it really wasn't. It was a comfortable silence with only the radio playing in the background. It was a song that Emma vaguely knew, so she was humming along with the tune and tapping her finger on her leg to the beat.

Killian found a spot in the car park relatively close to the entrance. They both got out, Killian locking the car and they both walked towards the entrance of the building that they'd only been in the day before. _Was it really only yesterday?_

"Mr Jones? Miss Swan?" The receptionist greeted them as they approached the front desk. Emma recognised her from the day before, but before she could nod or confirm her identity, the receptionist had already given them their instructions. Double doors. Elevator. 12th floor. The same as the day before.

When the elevator doors opened, the next receptionist led them to Mulan's office. All it took was one quick knock on the door and it opened, startling Emma. She looked over at Killian, who she now realised was just as confused as to the purpose of this meeting as she was.

When they walked into the room, Emma noticed Regina sitting on one couch, facing Robin who sat on the one opposite and Mulan seated in a chair situated on the other side of the rug, between the two mangers.

"Emma." Regina greeted, she stood up and gave her friend a hug. Emma gave her friend a slight, apprehensive squeeze back and then pulled away. She gave her manager a small smile before sitting down on the plush, red couch.

"Robin." Killian shook his managers hand and took the seat next to him, while Emma sat next to Regina. The silence took hold and even though it had only been a matter of seconds, the tension in the room was suffocating Emma.

"So what's this about?" Killian broke the silence and then leaned back casually on the couch. Killian gave off the mysterious 'bad boy' vibe without a doubt. He leant back in the chair, like he hadn't got a care in the world and like he couldn't give a damn about being there. Emma tilted her head to the side. No that wasn't it. No matter how hard Killian tried to pretend that he couldn't care, Emma could see the gleam of apprehension in the depths of his bright blue eyes. It was the actor in her that could sense it, because Emma knew that she too wanted to believe that she wasn't nervous about the prospect of this meeting, and that she wasn't cautious about the man sitting opposite her. She too probably had that same look that he was exhibiting in her very own eyes. Emma then noticed Robin glance at Regina and then Mulan before turning this attention to Emma. She couldn't help but feel like it was only her and Killian in the darkness on the meaning of this meeting.

"You." Mulan said at Killian. She then turned to Emma and said "the both of you."

"What? I haven't done anything." Emma said, her walls going completely up. She blamed this on the fact she spent all of her childhood in and out of foster homes. She could never keep a family longer than a couple of months. Whenever Emma did go back to the foster homes, and she always did, it was a fight for survival. No one took responsibility or anything and it was always a 'look after yourself' kind of environment. Everything was blamed on someone else, it was just a mechanism for coping, to completely deny any involvement in anything, what so ever.

"We know Emma. But it's what we hope you will do." Robin said and gave her a small comforting smile. Even though she'd only met this man on one occasion, she felt like she could at least put her trust in him and Regina, for whatever they were about to suggest.

"What do you mean?" Killian asked and looked between everyone in the room. He started with Mulan, then his eyes turned to Regina, Robin and then they finally settled on Emma's.

"Killian's reputation is something that could seriously damage this project." Robin started. Killian looked over at his friend and then shrugged his shoulders. He knew the truth, they were right. If the public decided that this movie wasn't worth seeing because he was in it, then they'd all be in trouble. They knew that this was a slim chance, but still the chance was still there. Robin locked Emma's attention and then continued. "Emma, the first time you met Killian, what was he like?"

"A complete an utter jackass." Emma truthfully replied. She tried not to think back to that first meeting between the two of them. Even though she had never met Killian before that day at the award show, Emma had of course heard of him. And she couldn't help but think that when she met Killian that day, that Hollywood had for once, got someone right.

"And that's what they think." Robin pointed to the windows and to the outside world.

"It's true." Killian replied and gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "I am like that."

"But we're working to change it." Robin replied and glanced over at Regina, silently begging for some kind of backup.

"We need to change the public views on him around." Regina said and Emma's attention was brought back to the woman she was sitting next to. Emma sighed and ran her hands through her long, golden locks. What was happening?

"And how the hell are you supposed to do that?" Emma asked. She crossed her arms over her chest and tensed up. Yes, she knew that it was important that she was here as It did affect her as she was involved in the movie and acting opposite him. But from her own research on Mr Killian Jones, she knew that he'd have a lot of work to do if he wanted to change the public's perception on him.

"Well we have an idea." Robin said and looked over at Regina. She gave a slight nod of the head, urging him to carry on. "We want to propose that the two of you start dating."

"What?" Killian and Emma both said at practically the same time.

"Are you fucking joking?" Emma asked.

"Oh come on man." Killian said.

"Emma." Regina scolded and Emma shook her head. "We're not proposing that the two of you jump into bed together or fall in love or anything like that. But we want you to give the illusion of the two of you as a couple, to the public."

"So fake dating." Killian glanced over at Emma who was nervously playing with her hands in her lap.

"Exactly." Robin replied.

"Obviously this means that both of your lives will be put into the spotlight. We know that the media love relationships. Especially those that blossom between co-stars."

"I just don't see how this will improve his image and be good for the film?" Emma asked and looked over at Regina for an answer. Mulan, who had been quiet for this exchange, then spoke up.

"If the public see the two of you together, doing normal, everyday things, then it will normalise him. Making him seem relatable. Especially if he's with you – someone who the public see as someone who is just like the 'girl next door.' The two of you being "together", means that more attention is brought back to the film and Killian's reputation is improved at the same time."

"It's not a bad idea Emma." Regina said but Emma shook her head.

"Yes, I get that, but do you honestly think that this will work? What's the chance that the public won't go and see the film just because he's in it?" Emma gestured over to Killian and her eyes settled on Regina's.

"Emma." Regina started and sighed. "This film could be big. As in award winning big. We don't want that success to be threatened because of who's in it."

"You didn't answer my question." Regina paused and sucked in a breathe, giving herself some time to answer Emma. When she finally settled on her reply, she opened her mouth to speak, but Robin spoke instead.

"The chances of it happening are real. We saw it with his last film. There were a lot of people not happy with his casting and the film didn't do as well as it was predicted."

"Well I'm going to sound like a bitch for saying this, but why cast him then? If there's a possibility that the film won't be successful with him in it?" Killian looked from Robin, to Mulan, to Regina and then finally Emma before his eyes settled on the cream rug that rested on the office floor. _She had a good point. Why did they cast him?_

"Because he's the man for the job." Mulan simply replied. She hadn't contributed much to the conversation at hand, but this comment made Killian bring up his head and his eyes met hers. "Think about this Emma. Would you rather I cast a mediocre actor that didn't fully understand the character that he was playing and was only there for a pay check at the end. Or would you rather I cast an actor who was so unbelievably James Oak that it brought tears to my eyes. And from that moment, I couldn't imagine anyone reading those lines so exquisitely perfect. He was the James I needed, as you were my Claire." Emma and Killian were both silent and Emma knew the truth. Of course she wanted the man that they believed that was the best for the job to work alongside her. She wanted to make the best movie possible and they had all the elements; a perfect script, a great cast, a supportive director. As Emma fiddled with the hem of the t-shirt, one more question was playing on her mind. And to Emma, this was the most important question of all.

"What about Henry?" Emma asked Regina. She couldn't go through with this if she didn't have the certainty that Henry's life wouldn't be deeply affected.

"We'll protect him." Regina replied and took Emma's hand into her own. It was a comforting gesture and Emma instantly relaxed. "I'm not saying he won't be affected, Emma. Obviously you'll be put into the spotlight more. But we'll protect him from the media – we'll ask them to not publish pictures of him to protect his privacy. The media are normally pretty good with that, especially when young children are involved."

"But I won't be able to tell him anything?" Emma asked and this time, it was Robin's turn to answer.

"You won't be able to tell anyone anything." He looked between Emma and Killian, two very different people who were reacting to this in similar ways. Killian had his head in his hands, thinking everything through. Killian didn't have family to protect – his only close relatives were 10,000 miles away and a ocean separated them. But Emma. Emma had a son to care for, and friends in Mary Margaret and David. It only seemed logical that she had more questions to ask – she had more people that were close to her. The silence was almost deafening. No one in the office dared to speak a word, and eventually, the ticking of the old wooden clock in the corner of the room started to suffocate the silence.

"I need to think over everything." Emma broke the peace and stood up, not waiting to be dismissed. She started walking over to the door as she heard Regina get up from the couch and follow her towards the door.

"Emma." Regina caught her arm before she left the confines of the office. Emma slowly turned around the face her manger and felt like she was ready for whatever Regina was going throw at her now.

"If this movie does well. As in as well as it's predicted to do, then you can afford to have time off. To be with Henry and to be a mother." Emma had not expected that. Regina knew about Emma's worries with Henry and balancing him with her job. Yes, Regina was Emma's manager, but they were also friends. "This is how confident we are in this film. You can go back to being just Henry's mom if you want. I won't stop you."

"Are you telling me, this movie will be able to support me and my son?" Emma asked tears starting to well up in her eyes. That's all that a Emma wanted in life. To be able to provide for her son. No other project had given her that. She made money, enough money to survive on, but nothing that insured that she could take considerable time off to be what she wanted to be; a mother. Despite that she'd only been in the business for a small number of years, Emma had been successful. She was thankful for her success and the fact that she could look after her son and not be worried about when the next bills were due. But being a single, working mother was hard. She wanted a break. No. She needed a break. And after this film, she could take that break, for as long as she desired, without having to worry about money or bills or anything. This film and this deal could support her and her son for a long time. She thought of Henry in that moment. She thought of all the times in his short life that she had missed out on. Like his 4th birthday when she had to work all day because of a delay in their filming schedule. It broke her heart to wake up that morning with her son fast asleep and then get home for him to be asleep again. Emma stood in the doorway of his room that night, she sunk to her knees and cried. During the days, she tries her best to be the strong woman that Henry sees. But during the dark veil of the night, she lets the cover of darkness bring out of woman that she is underneath.

"I still need time to think." Emma said, her eyes dropping to the floor.

"Of course." Regina said and removed her hand from Emma's arm.

Without another word, Emma turned and left the office. She made her way back to the elevators. As the metal doors were closing, a man's hand reached out and stopped them. The doors opened further to reveal Killian standing on the other side.

"You seem to have forgotten that I drove you here, lass."

"I could have got a taxi home."

"Yeah, I guess you could have." Killian replied to her abruptness and stuck his hands into his jean pockets. The doors to the elevator started to close once more, but it was Emma this time who reached out to stop them from fully closing.

"Are you getting in or are you just going to stand there gawking at me." Emma said and stood to the side of the elevator as Killian joined her. As the doors closed fully this time, Emma crossed her arms over her chest before turning to face the mysterious actor who's presence seemed to put her on constant edge.

"Right. Tell me the truth. No joking." Emma started as Killian turned his head to look at her.

"I've never joked with you, lass." This time it was Emma's turn to gawk at him, before he laughed. "What?"

"Do you not remember the whole award show shambles. I'm pretty sure you were joking with me half of the night."

"Point taken Swan. Now what did you want to know?" The familiar 'ding' of the elevator sounded, indicating that they'd reached their chosen floor. Emma and Killian exited and started walking through the reception and back out towards Killian's car. As Killian reached into his pocket to fish out his keys, Emma took his moment to ask him what was on her mind.

"Did you know what they were going to ask us today?" Emma asked as Killian unlocked the car, and then opened the passenger door for Emma to get in. But she didn't. She stood there, with her arms crossed over her chest.

"No, Swan. I didn't."

"Are you sure?" Killian sighed and Emma could see his jaw clench in frustration.

"Robin told me a while back that he wanted to fix my image. I agreed. I wanted it changed too. But not like this."

"Not like what?" Emma asked.

"Like this." He gestured towards Emma and then backed towards himself. "I didn't want him to drag anyone else into my mess, especially not a child." Henry. He was thinking of Henry. "I thought he would get me to visit animal shelters or something. Not bloody this." Killian sighed and closed the door to the car. It was obvious, Emma wasn't going to get in, without saying whatever she needed to say.

"Yeah well. It's happened."

"Swan, if I'd known beforehand, I would have given you a heads up. Believe me when I say I hadn't got the faintest idea." Killian pleaded and took a step closer to her. Killian paused, but kept his eyes trained on the young woman. "I understand if you don't want to go through with it. You have the lad to think about. You shouldn't be the one to clean up the mess that I made." Emma sighed but then took a step towards the car.

"We should probably get going." Emma said as Killian nodded his head in agreement.

"Aye, we should." He replied and opened the door for her before going around and getting into the drivers side.

Emma was silent for the whole journey home. It was almost an echo of the journey to the meeting, except this time, Emma's mind was solely on the man sitting next to her, humming along to Ed Sheeran, rather than what she was going to have for dinner that night.

Her mind wandered to Henry in that moment. Was it fair to him that she was going to have to lie to him for months on end? Was it fair to him that he'd inevitably get attached to this man, only for it to end? But was it fair to him that she was always leaving him behind when she filmed? The answer to all of those questions was no. No it wasn't fair to her young son. But if she could give it all up, and know that she could still support him financially, then she would. And this deal and project could do that for her.

Killian pulled the car to a halt outside of her house, but Emma made no effort to move. The silence within the car was almost too much for them both to handle. Emma ran her hands down her jeans and then broke the silence.

"I wasn't lying to Regina when I said I needed to think through everything." Emma said, just loud enough so that he could hear.

"I know." Killian replied, his hands still on the steering wheel. "And I'll completely understand if you don't want go through with it."

Emma sighed and turned to look at him. She leaned her head in the palm of her hand and her elbow on her leg. She looked completely and utterly exhausted. From researching the man sitting next to her until the late hours of the night and then an early morning surprise meeting, Emma was highly contemplating going straight back to bed. But she did promise a fun day for Henry, and she knew he'd never let her forget if she went back in her promise.

"You shouldn't be the one to fix the mess I made." Killian repeated what he said before they got into the car.

"No I shouldn't. But I don't think I ever helped your image before."

"What are you talking about?" Killian asked. Emma took her head out of her hands and brought her feet up to rest on the seat and brought her knees up to chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs and hugged them close to her.

"After the awards show a couple of years ago, you probably saw what everyone was saying about you."

"Swan-" Killian started but Emma shook her head and continued.

"No. Let me say this. They were saying such horrible things about you and for the most part, I agreed with them because. Well. I was pissed at you. I hated your guts. But I probably helped fuel that hate you got. I don't think I helped your case when I started a screaming match at you in front of a lot of people."

"You were annoyed. It's understandable lass." Emma smiled. Annoyed was a understatement.

"Yeah I was annoyed." Emma said and then looked down, almost ashamed of what she was saying. "It was my first big award show that I was attending. It was great that I was even there, let alone presenting one of the biggest awards of the night."

"It's not your fault that I got bad press from that night. It was completely on me lass." Emma could have kept talking after that. She could have opened up about how he embarrassed her in front of Hollywood, or how she'd gone home that night, ate a tub of ice cream and cried. But that meant opening herself up more than she already had. Emma Swan isn't open. Especially to people she'd only just met, let alone hated for a couple of years. Emma's mouth clenched shut and instead, stuck out her hand for him to shake. Killian looked from her hand, back up to her emerald green orbs and then back down to her hand. He then brought his hand up slowly, so not to startle her, before shaking it gently.

"I thought you hated my guts." Killian repeated and smiled at her.

"Yeah. But if we're going to do this, then we're going to have to at least be friends."

"Does that mean…" Killian started but then paused, willing for Emma I finish off the sentence so that he wouldn't make a fool out of himself by assuming anything.

"That I'll help you out with your image. I guess so. I mean, I'll speak to Regina again but if she honestly thinks it'll help you and the film out, I'll do it."

"What happened to thinking everything through?" Killian asked, but from the grin that stretched from ear to ear, Emma could tell that he couldn't really care about what her reason behind agreeing to help him was, he was just happy that she was.

"It's not like I can ask for anyone's advice on it. It has to stay a secret, right?"

"Aye." Killian replied and nodded in confirmation. Emma smiled and then moved to get out of his car. He moved and got out too, he shut the door behind him and the then leaned against the car as Emma walked up the drive to her front door. "Thanks again, Swan." Killian said and Emma turned back to face him.

"No problem Jones." She replied turned back around to open the front door.

She'd been in the house mere seconds, before Henry came barrelling down the hallway towards her.

"Mom" he shouted and threw his arms around her, as Emma lifted him into the air.

"Kid, you're getting too big to keep doing this." Emma grunted as her son clung around her neck. "Have you been good for Mary Margaret and David?" She asked and then put him down on the floor.

"Yep. Good as gold." Henry replied and took her hand, leading her towards the living room. As she walked in, the couch's had been moved so that they were facing one another. The pillows were all thrown on the floor and a sheet that she recognised from the upstairs cupboard, was covering the two couch's, creating an eight year olds version of heaven… a den.

"Look what me and David made Mom!"

"I can see it Henry. It looks like you had a good time kid." Emma said and ruffled Henry's brown hair.

"The best time!" Henry exclaimed as David crawled his way out of the den.

"Hey Em. How did your meeting go?" David greeted and stood up, dusting off his jeans before stretching his arms up and over his head.

"It went fine. Where's M's?" Emma asked before David pointed toward the kitchen.

"Good luck." He wished before turning back to Henry. "Come on. Let's tidy all this away." Emma smiled and then made her way towards the kitchen. She opened the door and saw Mary Margaret sitting at the wooden kitchen table with a water in her hand and a hot chocolate with cinnamon sitting opposite her, ready for Emma.

"Hey." Emma greeted and sat down opposite her best friend.

"Don't hey me. Why the hell was Douchbag Killian Jones in your kitchen this morning?"

"I told you, we both had a meeting."

"Okay, that's understandable. But you were smiling in his car, Emma. Smiling."

"You were spying on me?" Emma asked and brought her hot chocolate up to her lips and took a sip the warm liquid.

"Emma. This is the same guy who you nicknamed Jackass Jones. You were sat crying with a tub of Ben and Jerry's after that award show."

"I'm an actress. I'm dramatic."

"No Emma. He hurt you. Even yesterday, you were pissed off at him. So what I really want to know is how come you can go from hating him yesterday, to smiling in his car today?" Emma sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"I listened to David's advice. If I'm going to have to work with the guy, the least I could do is try. Yes he's a bit of a dick, but I don't know. I think there's more to his story." Mary Margaret placed her drink onto the table and then linked her hands together. She studied Emma carefully, almost as if she was one of her second graders who she couldn't tell if she was telling the truth or not. "What?" Emma asked after she took another sip from her drink.

"I'm just trying to figure you out." Mary Margaret said.

Emma drank the rest of the hot chocolate before walking over to to the sink. She washed Henry's breakfast bowl from earlier and then her and Mary Margaret's mugs and left them on the side to drain.

"Henry asked David about Neal today." Mary Margaret said and glanced over at Emma to gauge her reaction. Emma stilled and turned around slowly. She then leant back against the kitchen counter and folded her arms over her chest.

"What did David say?" Emma asked, but she already knew the answer.

"He told him that it was best to ask you about it." Mary Margaret replied honestly. Emma sighed and then ran her fingers through her golden locks; from her scalp down to the ends of her hair. She repeated the action another time before she walked back towards the table.

"I knew he would want to know sooner or later. He said something to his teacher earlier in the year."

"What did he say?"

"He asked something about why he was the only child in his class without a father. Henry's still so young though. He shouldn't have to deal with who his father was."

"No. Maybe not. But he'll find out sooner or later. Whether the press gets ahold of it or you tell him yourself, he'll find out eventually."

"I guess your right." Emma felt defeated. She knew that at some point, Henry would start asking about who his father was and what happened, but she at least thought that she would at least a couple of more years without having to bring up the conversation. But as Emma thought back to her own childhood, she knew that she'd started asking questions about why her own parents didn't want her, long before the age of eight. So in a way, Emma was thankful that she hadn't needed to approach the subject earlier.

-x-

Killian awoke the next morning with a headache like no other. His head was pounding and it only got worse once he'd opened his eyes to the invasive sunshine which was streaming through the blinds. _What the hell happened?_

"Bloody hell" he whispered to himself as the hangover set in. Killian stayed in bed, the sheets pooled around his waist and he waited. Waited for the headache to ease, or for the vomit to make an appearance. But in the quiet moments where he tried to ease whatever the hell he was feeling, Killian noticed the calmness of his surroundings. He lived in the Hollywood Hills, where each house was as luxurious as the last. Even though Killian lived in one of the biggest cities in North America, he appreciated the quiet moments where he could listen to the birds chirping away in the tree outside of his bedroom window.

He loved Los Angeles. He loved the hustle and bustle of the city life and in a way, the noise comforted him as in many ways, it reminded him of London and growing up in the biggest city in England. But his homes in Los Angeles and London were nothing compared to the love he had for the state of Maine.

Every summer when he was growing up, his parents took him and his older brother Liam on holiday there. They were surrounded by dark green forests where Liam and himself explored for hours on end. The house that he owned there now, was a large gated property, surrounded by woodland. It was a renovated farm house, which now looked and felt a lot more modern than when he first brought it. It had a large swing set in the back garden, just off the edge to the unknown of the woods. But beyond those woods, was a large lake, where Killian felt most at home. He could sit on the lakeside for hours upon hours and he could forget about the entire world. It was his sanctuary, a place where he felt most safe. And what made it even better was that the view from the master bedroom at that house, he could wake up every morning to the view of the sunrise coming up over the water, hitting the tree's of the woodland, making for the perfect morning, every morning.

Henry would love the swing set. Henry. Emma. As Killian decided to eventually stand up and venture to the kitchen to obtain a glass of water, his mind drifted to the two of them. If the deal goes ahead, he should take them there; to Maine. He could see it now, Henry, on the swing set, his face showing off his happiness. And Emma was standing behind her son, pushing him higher and higher to oblivion. She was laughing too. Killian shook his head. He'd only just met the lass. They were a long way off taking trips to Maine to his country house.

Killian took a sip of water, before popping two painkillers into his mouth and then taking another gulp of water to help swallow them down. He walked over to the doors that led out towards the pool, opened them, before stepping out onto the patio. The warm haze of thee early morning LA sun, was starting to warm the stones underneath his feet.

As he sat down in one of the sun loungers situated next to the pool, he closed his eyes, willing for the pounding of his headache to relent. But this moment quickly faded as his phone started to ring.

"What do you want?" Killian answered harshly, without bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Well good morning to you sunshine." Robin said on the other end of the phone. "You're in a great mood this morning."

"It's early, what do you want?"

"I tried ringing you last night Killian but you were off you head in vodka."

"It wasn't vodka. I decided to go back to my roots and have lager mate."

"I think lager's Austrian."

"Whatever. It was enough to get me drunk."

"I know, I rang you relatively early on and you were already slurring your words."

"Why didn't you come and get me then? You normally do." Killian replied and rubbed his eyes. If anything, his conversation with his friend was making his headache worse.

"Because by the time I'd got to the bar you were at, apparently you'd already left with some brunette girl according to the bartender." Robin replied and Killian paused. Her name was Zoey or Chloe or something along those lines. He couldn't quite remember. However, what he could remember was sliding out from her bed and catching a taxi back home in the early hours of the morning. Killian heard Robin sigh on the other end of the line and he could already imagine exactly how his friend was looking in that moment; disappointed, tired, deflated. "Are you really up for this, Killian? Because I can call Regina Mills and tell them that the deal is off and Emma can rip up the contract she signed last night."

"She already signed it?" Killian asked and looked out over the horizon. Out there somewhere, was a woman by the name of Emma Swan who had signed away her private life for the foreseeable future. And all because he was a drunken mess.

"Yes mate. She did. But I want- no. I need to know that you're fully on board too. Because this won't work if your not."

"Mate. I promise you that I am."

"Then I'll be over later with the papers. That's if, you're sure you want to go through with it?"

"I didn't know I had a choice." Killian said and stood up. His headache had finally eased slightly and now coffee was number one on his priority list.

"Of course you have a choice. But your choice is whether or not you want to keep acting. Because if you do, then you don't really have a choice. We're out of options." Killian rubbed his temple and then clicked the coffee machine on.

"I'll do it." Killian said and leant against the kitchen cabinets.

"I'll see you later then." Robin said.

"Aye, mate. Later." Killian replied and disconnected the call. Was this going to be worth it? He'd soon find out.

—

I hope you liked inked this chapter. I tried something a little bit different as I included both Emma and Killian's POV. Let me know what you think.

I'll try my best to update again soon - as for when, I don't know. I still haven't got much motivation to write.

I apologise for any errors in this chapter. I'm having to write on my iPad at the moment as my laptop has a virus, and it's just not the same.

Please leave me a review and let me know what you think.


	5. Action

Emma woke up early the next morning, and her first thought was to relay the email she'd received from Regina the evening before.

 **To:**

 **From:**

 **Subject: Tomorrow Night**

 **Emma,**

 **I've spoken with Killian's manager Robin and we've come to an agreement where we believe it'll be beneficial for all parties involved if we can get the plan up and running before you both leave to shoot in Canada.**

 **I understand this is sooner than what you expected, but we believe that this will stir interest in the project sooner.**

 **I've supplied Killian with your email address and contact number, so I suspect you will hear from him soon. We'll leave it up to the two of you to plan the evening.**

 **Regina.**

Emma threw her phone next to her on the bed, and then pulled the cream coloured covers over her head. She was going on a 'date' with Killian Jones this evening and she knew by this time the next morning, the internet would be swirling with rumours. Emma wasn't stupid; she knew they needed to be careful about what they would do and what they would give to the world. Anyway, 'Real Life' Hollywood couples wouldn't just put out a twitter post and introduce to the world their partner. They were going to have to be smart and drip feed information slowly, and seemingly, without knowing that they were doing it.

The house was quiet, so it was easy to hear Henry's little footsteps padding across the landing. Emma quickly took her head from out beneath the covers and closed her eyes. She heard the door to her room open, and then she felt the dip of the bed as he inspected whether or not she was awake. As he got closer and closer to his seemingly sleeping mother, Emma jumped up and wrapped him in her arms, tackling him to the bed beneath her.

"Mom!" Henry squealed and laughed when she attacked him with kisses all over his face. "You scared me."

"It's what I do, Kid. I'm your mom, I'm supposed to scare you." Henry laughed and then settled in her arms. Even though he was getting older now and moments like this we're becoming rarer for the two of them, Emma made certain to appreciate every quiet, still moment with her son. When she didn't have to worry about what role she would be playing next or where in the world her job would take her. None of it mattered when she was lying in bed with her young, handsome son in her arms.

"Am I still going over to Grace's tonight for a sleepover?" Henry asked and rested his head on Emma's chest. She ran a soothing hand down his back.

"Mmmm" Emma said in a sense of reply. "It works out well because I'm going out tonight." Henry quickly shot up and started shooting her questions from every angle.

"Mom! Who are you going out with? Is it a date? What's his name? Is he famous? Do I know him? Oooo is it Killian Jones? You know I've seen one of the movie's he was in. The one where he's a pirate or something?"

"Okay no. Hang on. When did you see that film?" Emma knew that film, she knew it well. After their first meeting together at the awards show, Mary Margaret thought it would be best to have a girls night where they watched that film and made fun of him continuously. Two bottles of wine and eight tequila shots between them, not only were they giggling uncontrollably every time he appeared on the screen but had also started to yell curse words at him to vent out Emma's anger.

"When I was at Grace's last" Henry innocently replied. "Her mom was watching it and we snuck downstairs to watch it from the hallway."

"Henry." Emma scolded. "You shouldn't be watching that film. You're far too young to see it."

"You didn't answer my question." Henry replied and snuggled closer. Emma sighed and ran her fingers through his short hair.

"Yes it's Killian." Emma said. She knew she couldn't tell Henry the truth, but she didn't feel like completely lying to him either. So yes she was going on a date with Killian, but was she dating him? No she wasn't. As much as she loved Henry, and she loved him a damn lot, she knew the moment she uttered the real truth to him, he would blabber the truth to David or Mary Margaret, or possibly one of his school friends. And as much as she wished he could keep a secret, she needed this one to stay exactly that; a secret.

"That's so cool. He's like famous."

"Hey! So am I." She exclaimed and tugged him closer so that he was on top of her chest.

"Yeah but he's Killian Jones!"

"It's just a date, Henry. Nothing's happened yet." Emma replied and sighed. As much as she knew that she was lying to her son, Emma also recognised that there was an element of truth there. Killian may annoy the hell out of her tonight so much so that before the night draws to a close, she could ring Regina and call of the deal there and then.

Emma's phone beeped, indicating that there was an unread text message. As she grabbed the phone from the other side of the bed, she saw an unknown number flash onto the screen. She could guess without even opening the text who it was from. Henry got up from the bed and told her that he was going to go downstairs and watch some cartoons. After Emma had told him that she'd be down in a minute, she chucked the phone back onto the bed, ignoring the message.

Emma sat on the edge of the bed and reached onto her nightstand where there were two hair ties. She pulled her golden locks back into a high ponytail, before standing up and making her way to her en-suite bathroom. Emma washed and moisturised her face before coming back into her bedroom, and pulling on an oversized jumper. She turned her attention back towards the phone that was lying face down on her bed.

Should she? Yes she should. She was ignoring the inevitable, but knowing this didn't settle the butterflies that had settled in her stomach as she sat down on the bed, reached for her phone and unlocked it.

 **UNKNOWN NUMBER: Good morning, Swan. I hope I haven't disturbed you this fine morning.**

 ** _EMMA: You haven't disturbed me at all Jones._**

 **KILLIAN: So you weren't dreaming about me last night?** Cocky bastard **.**

 ** _EMMA: What do you want?_**

Emma knew exactly what he wanted. He no doubt had received a similar sort of email from Robin regarding their activities tonight. Moments later, his name flashed on the screen again.

 **KILLIAN: I guess you'll have to answer that question tonight, love.**

 **KILLIAN: You know, when we go on our date. Anyway, I hope you'll graciously except that you let me plan the evening.**

 ** _EMMA: I know how to plan a date._**

 **KILLIAN: You know how to chase a monster when your on a film set. I know how to plan an evening out.**

Emma ignored that last text and stuffed her phone into her sweater pocket. She opened the door leading out to the landing and then walked down the wooden stairs. Before she went into the kitchen to start breakfast, she peaked into the living room to check on Henry. His feet were up on the sofa and his thumb was in his mouth, a habit she's never been able to break him out of. The remnants of the den building with David the day before had been tidied away and Henry was the image of content watching Spongebob in his Spider-Man pyjamas.

"Is pancakes okay for breakfast this morning kid?" She asked as she made her way down the corridor towards the kitchen.

"Yep." Henry replied and then his attention turned back towards the television.

Emma smiled to herself and then walked into the kitchen. She flicked the coffee machine on before she grabbed the ingredients she needed out of the cupboard and the fridge, before bending down to the lower cupboards to get a mixing bowl and an electric mixer. Sunday morning pancakes had become a bit of a tradition in the Swan household. When Emma was a child, she spent 6 months with the 'Swan Family' where she got her surname from. That was until they'd got pregnant and then sent her back to the group home, as they couldn't afford more than one child. Then Sunday's became a lot more sombre in the group home when she sat there at the weekends, eating her cereal as she pictured them sitting together as a family, feeding their own child pancakes. However it was a tradition she'd taken from them and she couldn't help but continue it with her own son. Anyway, it was the longest time she'd spent in one place and they were nice people.

Emma took her phone out from her jumper and then put it on the work surface, she then rolled up her sleeves and then turned to wash her hands in the sink. Once she'd throughly washed and dried them, she turned back to face the ingredients before her. Then, in the corner of her eye, she saw her phone flash once more with a notification. Before her hands got messy with pancake batter, Emma decided that if any time was good, this time would be the best to face what was another text from Killian.

 **KILLIAN: I'll pick you up at 7 this evening Swan. Wear something nice.**

Emma scoffed before placing her phone back on top of the work surface before continuing to work on her pancake creations.

20 minutes later, Emma and Henry were both sitting at the kitchen table, eating their pancakes. As Emma looked over at her son who was piling on strawberries and maple syrup onto his plate, Emma couldn't help but think back to what Mary Margaret had said about Henry starting to ask about his father. Henry was just so young, and Emma hadn't been prepared for him to start asking the serious questions so soon.

"Thanks for the pancakes, Mom." Henry said and broke the silence between them both. Emma took the bowl of strawberries and made a pile on top of her pancakes. She placed the bowl back in the centre of the table and then took the maple syrup and dribbled it over her stack of pancakes.

"Hey, so I need to ask you something." Emma started, but now she was about to talk to her son about his father, all she wanted to do was run for the hills.

"What is it?" Henry asked and took another bite from his breakfast. Emma took a deep breathe. Here goes nothing.

"You know if you ever wanted to talk to me about your dad, you can." Emma said. Henry brought his eyes up to hers, and then he started playing with his food on his plate. "I know he's not around, and I know you probably have questions." Henry stayed silent, and for a moment, Emma thought that he would change the topic and bring his father up again at a later date once he'd thought everything through. But the little boy surprised her.

"What was his name?" Henry asked and put down his fork on his plate. He was all business. Emma picked up her napkin and wiped her mouth, buying herself a few extra seconds before she had to have possibly the toughest conversation she has ever had with her young son.

"Neal." Emma replied. "His name was Neal." She started and then looked over at Henry who was willing for her to continue. "I met him when I was 17. I fell in love – or I thought I fell in love." Emma smiled and remembered her naïvety at that age. "Do you remember where I gave birth to you?" Emma asked and Henry nodded.

"In prison?" Henry said and Emma reached over and took his hand into her own.

"That's right." She said and started stroking her thumb over his knuckles. "I went through labour by myself, in a hospital room where no one else was allowed in apart from nurses to check my process every so often." Emma smiled sadly and then continued her story. "I gave birth to you, handcuffed to a bed with prison wardens standing at the door. I got to hold you, and kiss you and tell you how much I loved you for one day. 24 hours. And then you were gone."

"Mary Margaret and David took me." Henry filled in the blanks that he knew and squeezed his mom's hand tighter.

"Yes they did. They were the only people to know I was pregnant outside of the prison walls. As soon as I told them, they offered to take you so that I knew you would be safe. 2 months after I gave birth, I got released and I could finally hold you again."

"What happened to my Dad?" Emma sighed and gave a small shrug of her shoulders.

"I don't know kid."

"Why didn't he come and save you?" It was a question Emma knew that he might ask. However, hearing those words come out of Henry's mouth killed her. He loved fairytales so much and so the realisation that his father wasn't a Prince Charming must of hurt him. But it was the truth. Not everyone in the world was good, and his father, Neal, was defiantly not good.

"He – he blamed me for his crime. And he didn't look back." She could see his brain ticking as he was thinking everything over. She expected that to be the last of his questions, so she stood up and took her empty plate to the sink and started to tidy up. That was, until Henry voiced one last question on the topic of his father.

"Did he know about me?" His voice was quiet, practically a whisper. But it was enough to make Emma halter and turn back around to face him.

"He-" Emma started and then stopped. What could she say? Whatever she said, it was going to hurt her son. "I didn't even know I was pregnant when I went to prison Henry. So no, he didn't know either." Henry gave no indication that he'd even heard what she said, he instantly turned his attention back to his breakfast.

It was a tough conversation to have with her son, but it was one they needed to have. Emma could only go for so long dodging the questions about his dad, but once he'd started speaking about it to his teachers at school and then Mary Margaret and David, she knew it was a topic that she couldn't put off any longer.

It was a lot later in the day when Emma's mind drifted back to the date she was going on that night. She'd dropped Henry off at Grace's house and gave him a kiss goodbye. It wasn't until she was standing at her closet, looking at her clothes that she had no idea what they were doing on their 'date' and in turn, she had no idea what to wear. She could text Killian and ask him what he had planned, but then she knew she'd open herself up for a snarky reply back, so she decided against it. Whatever he had planned, she knew it would be somewhere where they would easily be spotted so that the rumour mill would start to spin.

Killian pulled up to Emma's house a few minutes before 7. He may be a dick at times, but he was also a gentlemen, and arriving promptly before taking a woman out on a date was something he had always taken seriously. Even if this date was fake and it was with Emma Swan; the woman who he couldn't help but be frustrated by, but at the same time, who he wanted to get to know more.

He climbed out of his car and straightened out his blue shirt over this dark trousers. He reached over to the passenger seat and grabbed his black leather jacket before sliding it on and then reaching over to take the rose that he had also put on the seat. He held it behind his back as he shut the door to his car and then walked up the steps to her front porch.

It took only a matter of seconds for Emma to appear at the door after he'd knocked, and God did she look breathtaking. She was wearing a baby pink dress that fell to her knees but accentuated her shoulders and breasts. Around her waist there was a pink belt that brought attention to her gorgeous figure and just above that, the material that surrounded her chest had tiny pink embroidered flowers that brought attention to the bodice. Below the belt, the dress became floaty. Emma's golden locks were pulled up into a high ponytail. Her makeup was classy and elegant with the perfect pink lip to finish off the look. Killian couldn't help but stare at the goddess in front of him, but it was almost as if he was in a trance and Emma had put him underneath her curse and there was no escaping now.

"Swan." He paused as his eyes trailed down her body, starting at her eyes, down to the hem of her dress, before his eyes met hers once again. "You look stunning." Emma nearly looked as shocked as he did, her mouth falling slightly ajar as her eyes looked him up and down.

"You look…" Emma said before Killian finished off her sentence.

"I know." Emma scoffed and grabbed her bag from the table in the hallway, as Killian took a step back so that she could come outside and lock the door. "You didn't think I would come dressed as a pirate did you?" Killian joked.

"I didn't know what I expected" Emma replied and dropped her keys into her bag. They walked towards Killian's car in silence and as they neared, Killian ran ahead of open the passenger side door. "Are you going to do this every time we get in a car together?" Emma teased.

"Gentlemen, remember Swan?" He shut the door and then jogged around to the drivers side, before slipping his seat belt on and putting the car into first gear.

"So are you going to let me know where we're going or am I supposed to guess?" Emma asked once they'd been on the road for a few minutes.

"Well you can try and guess, but I doubt you'll get it." He replied and his brought. His attention back to the road in front of him, rather than the elegant blonde haired princess that sat beside him.

Killian tried to focus then on the night in hand. He knew he'd planned a pleasant evening for them both, even though he knew that the evening would also be awkward at the same time. He wasn't stupid; he knew that their acting would need to start the moment their doors opened, and it would end as soon as the car door closes for the night again. As far as anyone else knew, they were a young, loved up couple going on a date, and they needed to make sure the whole world believed that too.

Before he even took note of what was happening, Killian pulled into a car park in Downtown Los Angeles. This was it. The start of their adventure. The beginning of a journey. And he couldn't help but be a little terrified. He'd never dated anyone in the public eye before, and to the best of his knowledge, neither had she. He wasn't a saint, far, far from it. But he truly did want to change his image for the better, to do Liam, Elsa, Ella and Robin , but more importantly, his parents proud.

3\. He took a deep breathe in. 2. He took a deep breathe out. 1. He opened his car door. Action.


End file.
